Getting Started

Setting the date format

Before you start to use Ezy Invoice, you should set Windows 95/ 98 (or NT) to display dates in the format you prefer.

How you enter dates in Ezy Invoice and how it is printed or previewed in reports etc.. depends on the settings in the Windows control panel. In most cases a fresh installation of Win95/ 98 or NT will set your date formats to mm/dd/yy (e.g. 03/17/97 or 12/28/97).

You can easily change the date format to suit your requirements. This section will show you how to modify the date format to dd-MMM-yyyy (e.g. 25-Jun-1998 or 01-Jan-2000 which is commonly used. Note that you will need to set the date format to a 4 digit year format in order for the system to report dates in or after the year 2000.

Procedure for setting Windows date format to dd-MMM-yyyy

1. Click the Windows 'Start' button then select the menu : Settings | Control Panel.
2. Windows responds by opening the control panel folder. Select the 'Regional Settings' icon.
3. Windows displays the Regional Settings tabbed dialog. Click on the 'Date' tab.
4. In the 'Short date style' combo box enter : 'dd-MMM-yyyy'. (You can press F1 for additional help on these settings.)
5. Click 'OK' to confirm the settings.

This will display all dates in the new format e.g. 01/Feb/1997 or 28/Dec/2000. Note that when you enter dates in Ezy Invoice, you will still need to enter dates in the format dd/mm/yyyy (e.g. 27/06/1997). However when Windows displays it, it will be in the format dd/MMM/yyyy.

Setting the currency format

You can change the currency symbol in Ezy Invoice as follows :

1. Click the menu option Go To | Company/ Business Info
2. Then click the "Global" page.
3. Pull down the list to select your currency symbol or with the keyboard, enter any symbol as required.

Tip

• Try to keep your currency symbol as short as possible as it may get truncated when displayed in report and printouts when the values are large.
• If you don't want any currency symbol at all, simply enter a space bar for your currency symbol.

Setting the display

Ezy Invoice runs best with the following Display settings:

• Colour : High Colour (16 bit ) or Higher
• Screen Area : 800 X 600 or 1024 X 768.

If you are not sure of your settings, follow these steps

1. Exit from Ezy Invoice
2. Click : Start | Settings | Control Panel.
3. Double click on the Display Icon.
4. In the Display Properties box, click on the Settings Tab.
5. If the colour setting is set to 16 Colours or 256 Colours, you should change it to High Colour (16 bit) or higher.
6. Check that your display is set to 800 X 600 or 1024 X 768. If not set it accordingly.
7. Click [OK] when finished. If prompted to restart your computer, you should do so.

Installing a printer driver

If you do not already have a printer installed, on your computer, it is recommended that you install one before you proceed. Ezy Invoice uses the printer driver to preview and print reports. Please refer to the Windows Help for more information on installing a printer driver.